starry night lesson plan

Kate Jenkins

1 December 2014
LTC 4240: Art for Children
Starry Night Lesson Plan
Big Idea: Part of the Whole
Grade Level/Month: 2/anytime
Lesson Overview/Summary:
For this lesson, students will explore different types of media through the recreation
of Vincent Van Gough’s Starry Night. This lesson will be a follow up lesson/activity after
students spend a class period looking and investigated the works of Vincent Van Gough,
especially the painting they will be working with. Each student will have a small section of
the original painting after it has been divided into equal pieces. Students will recreate their
section of the painting using the original as a reference, with their choice of paper strips,
chalk, oil pastels, or paint. After students complete each section, the class will contribute
each of their parts to create the entire image for display.
Class Periods Required: Dependent on the students interest but at least two (with the
exploration of Van Gough before the studio).
Key Concept(s):


Using observations and perceptions to recreate a piece of artwork.



Explore using various media and materials as a way to convey perceptions of a work
of art.



Demonstrate appropriate usage of materials and tools while making art.



Understand that peer’s parts of the whole will all be different from one another both
in design, style, appearance, and even media.



Understanding and being able to explain the pieces of work as well as the choices
that are made while creating art.

Essential Questions:


What factors prevent or encourage people to take creative risks?



How does collaboration expand the creative process?



How does knowing the contexts, histories, and traditions of art forms help us create
works of art and design?



How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work
is effective?



How do artists grow and become accomplished in art forms?

Art Standards:


Collaboratively brainstorm multiple approaches to an art or design problem.



Make art or design with various materials and tools to explore personal interests,
questions and curiosity.



Experiment with various materials and tools to explore personal interests in a work
of art or design.



Discuss and reflect with peers about choices made in creating artwork.

Core Academic Standards:


Strand I: Product/Performance
o 1.B: Paint lines with control of the brush. Clean paint brush before changing
colors. Mix two colors to create a third color.

Identify & Define Common Vocabulary that connect the art form with the other
identified subject area(s):
Some of the terms, both art and integrated, that I might use with students would be
hues, color, contrast, movement, enlargement, part of the whole, different shapes students
may use when thinking of ways to help us make our different parts of the image, and style.
Materials:


Students will meet whole group at the carpet to discuss and review the previous
lesson about the different works of Van Gough, as well as his artistic style.



Show students the picture they will be working with during their studio, Starry
Night and ask students what they see about the piece.



Introduce and explain the studio for the day, part of the whole, as well as all of the
materials that will be available to use.



Demonstrate/model what the studio might look like and the steps that will be taken
with a chosen material.



Clean up.



Dismiss students by table to gather materials.



Give students time to work with their chosen media and sections of the image, using
the original image for a reference.



I will circulate around the room and spend time working with students who need
assistance, ask students furthering questions, help support students that encounter
issues, and help to solve problems students may face.



Students will be given a five-minute warning to clean up. When five-minutes have
passed, students will clean up all materials and studio area.



Everyone will meet back up at the carpet to discuss and reflect on the studio. I will
ask students to think about their ideas about their parts of the image, what went
well, what they would change about their process the next time, if they had
problems and how they solved them, the different media that were used, etc.

Students will then turn knee-to-knee to share with a partner. I will then call on 4-5
students to share what they said or what their partner said.


As a group, we will decide on how to put together our parts to make the whole and
spend time collaboratively assembling our class image for display.



Students will then wait for teacher direction to transition to the next activity.

Prior Knowledge:
Some students might have knowledge or heard of Vincent Van Gough, or might have
seen the painting that will be used for the lesson. Most students, if not all are aware of safe
classroom routines and procedures. Some students might be aware of how to hold, use, and
put away the materials that are available in the studio for this lesson.
What activities will you use to engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or
experimenting in this lesson?
Students will use their own knowledge and experiences to explore and experiment
with different media to recreate different sections of Vincent Van Gough’s Starry Night.
How will this lesson encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
Students will be encouraged to solve their problem of how to reflect and use
different media to recreate a portion of Van Gough’s, Starry Night by leaning on one
another, Van Gough’s original image, as well as their own style and choice in media.
What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise/reflect and improve
their understandings and their work?
Following each studio session, students will have the opportunity to reflect and
debrief with their peers about their different artistic processes during the studio. Through
this debriefing we will talk about what went well, what might they do different next time,

what they enjoyed, how they solved their problems, etc. Through this sharing process, our
class can reflect on our own pieces, the collaborative work of the class, as well as discover
other’s ideas and experiences for future activities. When students return to their artwork,
they can modify or revise their original ideas and processes depending on their first pieces
of work to move forward.
What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their
learning/understanding/work in this lesson?
Students will be able to decide as a class where to display their collaborative work
as well as how to share their work with the school, and families.
How will you adapt the various aspects of this lesson to differently-abled students?
Students will have the opportunity to use different types of media and materials and
will be given any additional accommodations for their learning. Students needing an
additional challenge will be encouraged to create an additional piece of our image using a
different, and or unfamiliar material.